1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to automated data collection, monitoring, analysis and metrics of multiple devices on a network.
2. Description of Related Art
A wide variety of techniques are known for manipulating each of the individual technologies that exist in a Web-based concurrent system environment. For example, some techniques focus on the Web Client user interface. Other techniques focus on the simple network management protocol (SNMP) data that networked copiers, printers, facsimile machines and multifunction devices use to share their status and other data. Still other techniques focus on various methods of communicating over the Internet or between programs, and on data analysis and processing for metrics.
In a concurrent networked device environment, where the data, state and actions being performed by many devices change almost constantly and often simultaneously, an orderly set of rules, policies and mechanisms need to be in place to interpret data and ensure that status information is reported efficiently. Copiers may run out of one or more supplies, billing data may need to be reported, operational alerts may need to issued regarding needed device repairs, network device supplies may need ordering when they become low and an order automatically created, the status of a device may need to be refreshed, accurate statistical information may need to be generated, and/or appropriate metrics may need to be applied to help evaluate the data being used by many users and systems.